Crime & Safety
Clinton County, MI Hunter Shot in Chest by Stray Bullet
Essex Township, MI – A 38 year old bow hunter remains in critical condition after investigators say an errant bullet from target shooting on a nearby property struck him in the chest Saturday evening.
By Blake Harrison · 2026-10-04T01:30:06.487Z
Essex Township, MI – A 38 year old bow hunter remains in critical condition after investigators say an errant bullet from target shooting on a nearby property struck him in the chest Saturday evening.
According to the Clinton County Sheriff 's Office, deputies were dispatched at approximately 5:50 p.m. Saturday to an address on Lowe Road in Essex Township following a report that a man had been shot while bow hunting.
Deputies, firefighters and medics located the hunter inside his blind with what authorities described as an apparent single gunshot wound to the chest.
The man was transported by Clinton Area Ambulance to a hospital, where he remained in critical condition at the time of the sheriff's office update.
Preliminary findings indicate people on a nearby property were target shooting when an errant round allegedly traveled toward the hunter, according to the sheriff's office. Investigators said the 38 year old was bow hunting from a hard sided ground blind when he was struck.
Authorities described the shooting as an isolated incident and said the circumstances remain under investigation by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office and Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
No arrests or criminal charges were announced in the initial update, and authorities did not identify the injured hunter or disclose who was participating in the nearby target shooting.
Clinton Area Ambulance Service, Maple Rapids Fire, DeWitt Township Police Department , Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Clinton County Central Dispatch assisted with the response.
Officials have not released additional information about the hunter's condition.